Bihuan’s long-standing admiration for Prince Jianping was exposed, enraging the emperor. On his deathbed, he demoted Bihuan from Noble Consort to Noble Lady.
The Western Palace was cold and desolate, yet Bihuan still carefully dressed herself every day.
Those around her couldn’t understand. The late emperor had only just died, a time when festivities were forbidden, and she was in the Western Palace. Who was she dressing up for?
Dressed in finery, Bihuan smiled toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony. “I’m celebrating the new emperor’s enthronement.”
She was celebrating the man she loved but could never have, now ruler of all under heaven.
Bihuan still remembered how she had once been infatuated with Prince Jianping and dreamed of becoming his princess. But though she loved him, he did not love her. The person in Prince Jianping’s heart had always been someone else.
When the music reached the Western Palace, Bihuan looked up at the palace walls, like the bars of a cage, and murmured to herself, “Now that you’re emperor, you can finally marry the person you want. I should be able to forget you now, too, shouldn’t I?”
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Enter at your own risk if you have any personal deal-breakers.
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Theme: What is long remembered will eventually echo back
